The Cycle Shop - Short Story

A middle-aged man and his young son walked towards their regular business spot, a place beside the road. The Man was holding his ‘Cycle Shop’, a cycle loaded with some food items. It was business as usual, the father and son were getting ready for another busy day at their make-shift food stall.

While they were busy prepping for business, suddenly a car came crashing in and bashed against their cycle shop. The father and son were able to escape the crash by a whisker but their cycle shop was completely destroyed. The food items were scattered on the road while the father and son remained on the ground staring at each other. The driver came rushing out from the car. He was a well-dressed wealthy man. He asked the father if he and his son were alright. The guy told the father that he had a rough night and didn’t sleep at all, so he fell asleep while driving. But to his utter surprise, the father and son started laughing. The man was taken aback by this unexpected reaction. He asked: “why are you laughing?  The father replied: “it’s just another bad day in business, I’m happy that nothing serious happened to me or my son or even you. We'll start over again.” The Man was deeply moved by this positive attitude.

Two days later, the father and son arrived at their usual business spot. They were surprised to see the Man, who crashed into their cycle shop, standing right beside a brand new cart. The Man looked at the father and son and greeted them with a smile. He said: “I have been coming here since last two days but you guys didn’t turn up.” The father replied: “We needed some time to get everything back on track.” The Man said “that day I was really tensed, I couldn’t sleep the night before because I had an important business deal to crack. My nervousness got the better of me. Whatever happened that day was because of that. But your positive attitude really inspired me. I not only cracked the deal but got additional ones as well. This cart is my gift to you, not to cover the losses for that day but as a token of respect to your positive attitude.” The Father had a smile on his face while he gently patted on his son’s head. The Man bid goodbye and drove off in his car, The father and son got busy in preparing their new shop.

Written by Soumit 'The Top' Nath